Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the United States and Poland and continuing commitment to work bilaterally through NATO to deter Russia.

The secretary thanked Minister Blaszczak for his country’s offer for increased U.S. force posture options in Poland.

He also thanked the Polish defense minister for his country’s role as the center of gravity for U.S. deterrence efforts in Central Europe and hosting up to 4,500 U.S. troops on a rotational basis.